June 11, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – Small businesses are the core of Maine’s economy. In 2019, businesses defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as “small” (with fewer than 500 employees) made up 99 percent of all Maine Business and employed over half of the State’s workforce[i]. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced many small businesses to close their doors in response to health concerns and state guidelines, the impact was felt immediately.
News
CEI Statement on Racism, Racial Violence and Racial Injustice
June 3, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) stands with millions of people worldwide who will not tolerate racially motivated brutality and injustice. To those who spread hate, fear and violence in order to divide us, we say: stop now.
Mission-Driven Lenders Offer Loans to Boost Business Recovery
May 18, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), Community Concepts Finance Corp and MaineStream Finance are offering special loan products supported by SBA funds in a collaboration to help businesses across Maine gain access to the capital they need to rebuild from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEI Mentors Help Maine Small Businesses Survive
May 12, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – CEI and several of our business advising and lending clients were featured in a Portland Press Herald article on how businesses were pivoting to meet the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses.
Grant from Henry P. Kendall Foundation Provides Debt Relief for CEI’s Maine Farm Borrowers
May 4, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – Thanks to a generous $100,000 grant from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, Maine farms with active loans from Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) will receive debt relief covering principal and interest payments for three months beginning in May. The farms in CEI’s portfolio are located in 11 of Maine’s 16 counties, reflecting the diversity of the state’s agricultural industry. Farm businesses have been especially hit hard by the unanticipated, immediate loss of revenue and severe disruptions in supply and demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEI Statement on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day
April 22, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – Rural America has been hit hard by the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 virus. As we field heartbreaking calls from small business owners needing help now, CEI is thinking ahead to three, six and twelve months down the road. What can we do now to help rural regions recover?
An Open Letter from CDFI Leaders to Our Supporters
WRITTEN ON APRIL 14, 2020 “Those closest to the problem are closest to the solutions.” Bryan Stevenson Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) were first certified by the U.S. Treasury 25 years ago to provide financing in communities left behind by the mainstream financial system. CDFIs have long been “first responders” to many small and growing businesses in communities throughout America and are very much on the front lines of the economic response to coronavirus (COVID-19). There are more than 1,000 CDFIs at work in all 50 states managing $185 billion in loans and investments to historically underserved small businesses, nonprofits, affordable housing projects, unbanked consumers building credit, and farms and grocery stores which provide healthy food.
CEI Comment on Modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Regulation
April 8, 2020 Chief Counsel’s OfficeAttention: Comment ProcessingOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency 400 7th Street, SW., Suite 3E-218,Washington, DC 20219 Robert E. Feldman, Executive SecretaryAttention: Comments RIN 3064-AF22Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation550 17th Street NWWashington, DC 20429 OCC Docket ID OCC-2018-0008FDIC Docket ID RIN 3064-AF22
Important Update: CEI Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – To help keep our communities safe, effective Monday, March 13, CEI staff members will be working remotely and our offices are closed to the public. Please be in touch with your CEI contact to reschedule in-person meetings to phone or web meetings. You can reach us by email: info@ceimaine.org, or by phone: 207-504-5900. We wish you good health and look forward to hearing from you.
The CEI Women’s Business Center Launches Propeller, a Tech Incubator for Female Entrepreneurs
March 5, 2020 (Brunswick, ME) – The CEI Women’s Business Center is now accepting registrants for Propeller, a new program designed to support women in the ideation and development of tech-based businesses.